Book Review
In his book, The Dissolution of the Monasteries, James G. Clark discusses what he calls “a study of the end of the monasteries in England and Wales”.(19). What Clark is discussing is the Dissolution of the Monasteries, an event in history in which King Henry VIII dissolved over 850 religious houses in England by 1540. This event, a seismic shift in religion in England, is the focus on the book, The Dissolution of the Monasteries by James G. Clark. Clark covers the event from the perspective of the men and women affected by it, not just the perspective of King Henry VIII. Clark, A professor at the University of Exeter who has written a lot of material regarding monasteries, is the right author for this book due to his extensive knowledge about the subject at hand and his unique take on it. This book would have been much different if it had been viewed through Henry’s point of view. It is a very dense book with a lot of information, but the author is clearly educated on the topic that he is covering.
Clark separates his book into three parts. Part One goes over how important monasteries were in Tudor society. Part two covers what kind of relationship the Tudors had with monasteries. Part Three is about “ the early consequences of the extinction of regular religion” (20). Over the course of the book, Clark shows the place of the monastery in English society, the actions of King Henry and his administration against these monasteries, and the consequences thereafter.
The book begins with Clark recounting the place of the Monastery in English society in the 16th century. Monasteries had a sense of fascination among the English people. For example, Clark recounts that because many people believed in the spiritual power of certain objects, the monasteries that took care of these objects would become famous. (45). Clark also describes an old anecdote where people say that “fat men were said to have abbot faces” and how nuns and priests were not always beloved by the public. (50). This first part of the book illustrates for the reader the role and fascination the everyday Englishmen had with their monastery.
Part Two goes into the actual Dissolution of the Monasteries. First, Clark gives us historical context, discussing the English Reformation and the events leading up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. A part I found interesting was that Clark writes that “The aims of the regime were abstract and ambitious, and hence they were often not readily understood either by those called upon to carry them out or by those who confronted them.”(316). Putting this into perspective, Clark shows the reader that the purpose behind the Dissolution of the Monasteries was not even clearly seen by those serving the King and those who were against the act. This shows the complexities and political chaos of the time. Part Two also includes the Pilgrimage of Grace, a rebellion lead by Sir Robert Aske in response to the Dissolution of Monasteries. The Dissolution of Monasteries was so divisive that it caused a rebellion, albeit a quickly crushed rebellion. The second part of Clark’s Dissolution of the Monasteries
Part Three examines the aftermath of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Fittingly, Clark begins this part with a story of the destruction of a church in Lewes, its destruction is a fitting metaphor for the Dissolution of Monasteries (379-380). Clark writes that “Historians have found it difficult to look on the years after 1540, the last years of Henry’s reign and those of his children, Edward and Mary, without the impression of new worlds being cut rapidly anf roughly from the old.”(470). This quote stands out because the Dissolution of the Monasteries’ impact was so great that the 1540s and the 1530s seemed to be from different worlds.
In the introduction to his book, Clark writes “The dissolution in England is the most visible drama of the Tudor reformations and stands in sharp relief on a European stage, and yet it is the least well-documented of all.” (9). This statement is important for understanding the book because of this fact. Because this event has not been well-documented, in a way, it causes historians to fall back on certain perspectives such as the perspective of Henry VIII. Despite Clark saying earlier that this was one of the least documented events, Clark uses a plethora of sources, from regular townspeople to scholars like Hugh Latimer and John Foxe. I am not contesting that what Clark say isn’t true. But, for a moment in history which is not very well documented, there is a lot of evidence.
One critique to be had of The Dissolution of the Monasteries is its length. The book is very dense. While a book’s length does not automatically mean it is a slog, to say that James G. Clark was not being a little indulgent would be fibbing. He is an expert on monasteries and It is not a crime to say that a book is very long. But, Clark’s knowledge helps rather than hinders.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries could have just been a book about that one act Henry VIII signed in 1536. It could have just covered a basic understanding of the English monastic life, why Henry did what he did, the closing of the monasteries and the aftermath. But, this would have been very different than the book James G. Clark would come to write. You see, the main character of the book is not King Henry. The main character is the monastery. Clark spends a large amount of time on these monasteries. Because Clark’s specialty is monasteries, it works (though it can slip into indulgence occasionally).
If you ask someone who is the main character or actor in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, many will say Henry VIII, some might mention Sir Thomas Cromwell, even say Sir Robert Aske who led the Pilgrimage of Grace in response to this. But the correct answer is that the main character of the Dissolution of the Monasteries were the monasteries and those that lived in them. They were the ones most effected by the closing of the monasteries. James G. Clark captures this quite well in his sprawling book about the Dissolution of the Monasteries.